BPC Plays At Stillman

Courtesy of BPC

The Brewton-Parker College basketball teams were in Alabama to take on Stillman last week. The women picked up a win in a close one, while the men fell to the Tigers.

Women

Saturday’s contest at Stillman (Ala.) proved to be a tough challenge for Brewton- Parker women’s basketball as the Lady Barons (175, 9-4 SSAC) managed to slip away from the Tigers (12-9, 4-7 SSAC) in a tight 60-58 battle on the road.

“We were in a dog fight today,” Head Coach Steve Edwards said. “Stillman plays extremely hard, and they are tough defensively. Our toughness was tested today, and we found a way to get it done in a hostile environment.”

“Playing Stillman at their place is always a tough challenge, but we always enjoy the competition,” Edwards added.

Angel McRae produced the Lady Barons’ first two scores, giving BPC a 4-2 lead nearly three minutes into the opening quarter. Sy-Marieona Williams connected for four free throws and a trey to give Brewton-Parker an 11-5 lead with 3:30 left on the clock.

After a pair of Stillman buckets from the foul line, the Lady Barons closed out the quarter with two free throws from McRae and a deep ball from Williams to lead 16-7. Williams led the offensive efforts with 10 points followed by McRae’s six points.

Brewton-Parker jumped out to a double-figure lead early in the second period with two free throws from Samerria Bryant. The Tigers responded with a four-minute, 7-2 run to pull their deficit down to just six points with just under five minutes to play in the half.

Williams knocked down yet another trey at the 4:03 mark to give BPC a 23-14 lead, but the hosts answered with a deep ball of their own just moments later for the first three points of a 9-0 run that leveled the score at 2323 with 1:25 on the board. However, Williams banged in a three-pointer with a minute to play to give the Lady Barons a 26-23 lead at the break.

Layups from McRae and Madison Evans opened the second half, giving BPC a 30-23 advantage early. Stillman responded with seven unanswered points to equalize the game at the 5:41 mark before doing the same at the 4:27 mark with a 32-32 scoreline.

After a layup from Evans, the Tigers captured a 36-34 lead leaving just under three minutes to play in the quarter. Two big free throws from Keyanna Tolbert started an 8-0 run for BPC with Micah Bess knocking down back-to-back treys to give BPC a 42-36 lead with 90 seconds remaining. Stillman managed to sneak in a three-pointer in the final moments to move behind BPC by just three points with one final quarter of regulation to play.

It was all Williams early to open the fourth quarter, scoring six points to give Brewton-Parker a 46-39 lead with 7:41 left in the game. The Tigers were able to get four points back from the charity stripe, but an and-one from McRae gave the Lady Barons an eight-point edge with just under six minutes to play.

The hosts were able to outscore BPC 15-9 down the stretch but were unable to surpass the Lady Barons with Williams notching all the final nine points for Brewton-Parker. Williams lit the floor up with 15 points in the fourth quarter to help give the visitors enough of an edge to slip away with the win on the road.

As a team, Brewton-Parker shot for 35.4% (17-of-48) from the floor, 33.3% (7-of-21) from three, and 73.1% (19-of-26) from the charity stripe. Williams led the way with a season-high 31-point performance followed by McRae with 11 points. Bess led off the glass with 10 rebounds while McRae notched eight boards. BPC narrowly edged out SC 37-36 in rebounds.

Brewton-Parker moves to an eight-game winning streak with the win on Saturday.

Men Brewton-Parker men’s basketball traveled to Tuscaloosa, Alabama to face Stillman (Ala.) in SSAC play on Saturday afternoon. The Barons (5-17, 3-11 SSAC) fell to the Tigers (13-9, 8-5 SSAC) in a 78-63 defeat.

The hosts opened with back-to-back threes nearly two minutes into the first half to lead by six early. Jeffery Huff Jr. scored the first bucket for BPC at the 17:36 mark, but the Tigers responded with five points to jump out to an 11-2 lead with 16:43 remaining.

After a dunk from Grant Sanders, Stillman put together another five-point chunk, advancing to a 12-point lead. The Barons went on a 9-4 run over the next few minutes to pull the deficit back under double figures, down 20-13 with under 11 minutes to play in the half.

Brewton-Parker began to battle back, chipping away at the lead, going on a 10-5 run led by five points from Lance Smith to pull the deficit down to just a one-possession ballgame. After a deep trey from Stillman, threepointers from Aaron Udell and Smith boosted the Barons back into the lead at the 6:40 mark with a 29-28 edge just before Udell scored a jumper in the paint to make it a three-point game.

The Tigers pieced together two jumpers from beyond the arc to lead by three with four minutes to play. Huff Jr. scored the Barons’ final seven points of the half, closing in on the Tigers as BPC ended the first 20 minutes behind 43-38.

Sanders opened the second half with a slam to pull the Barons back to just a three-point deficit.

BPC managed to hang around Stillman for the first few minutes of the half, remaining no further than five points away from the Tigers until the 12:32 mark.

Stillman utilized a fivepoint chunk to pull out to a 56-47 lead, but the Barons answered with five points of their own to move back to a four-point deficit with over nine minutes left in the game. A few scores from the charity stripe by Smith and Huff Jr. eventually pulled the Barons as close as three points with 7:41 to play but the Tigers began to wear down BPC to the point of surging back to a double-figure lead late into the half. The Tigers finished the final eight minutes, outscoring BPC 20-8 with the Barons unable to manage a comeback effort, falling 7863.

BPC shot for 43.1% (22-of-51) from the floor, 41.2% (7-of-17) from three, and 70.6% (12-of-17) from the charity stripe. Huff Jr. led with 18 points while shooting 6-of-9 from the floor. Smith also scored double figures with 12 points and led the rebounding efforts with seven boards ahead of Damarcus Johnson Jr. as well as Emmanuel Green by one rebound.

Stillman won the turnover battle 8-16, gathering six steals and producing 20 points off turnovers. BPC held a 34-31 advantage off the glass.